Guidance for Civil Society Actors for submission on the ICERD
You can
Participate in the preparation of the State report (need to contact the government authority in charge for this)
Provide information for the list of themes.
Prepare and submit an alternative report.
Submit your own answers to the list of themes.
Civil society actors can also submit additional information to the Committee when monitoring the government’s implementation (for follow-up)
Structure and Content
Submission should be submitted in English, French or Spanish (English is preferred)
Information submitted should be concise and accurate to increase reliability and objectivity
Cross-referencing is encouraged
Clear reference to the concrete articles of ICERD should be made
For the alternative report:
No page or word limit but advised to be as concise as possible
Summary page is recommended
Include: title page with name of organisation(s) and a table of contents. for more details on structuring the report look at the Guide for Civil Society Actors on CERD
Deadlines:
Generally civil society can submit information to CERD at any time
However, to be more effective, inputs should be provided in a targeted manner at each phase of the cycle
The UK’s state party report for the next reporting cycle is yet to be confirmed
List of themes:
Usually published 4-6 weeks prior to the relevant session
It is recommended that information specifically for the list of themes is submitted to the Secretariat as soon as possible (must clearly indicate that the input is for the list of themes)
Submission of an alternative report:
Suggested to submit this after the submission of the relevant state report, and before it is considered by CERD
Advised to be submitted two weeks before the relevant session at the very latest
An electronic version (by email) and 24 hard copies should be submitted to the secretariat
How to submit documents
Secretariat of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) UNOG-OHCHR 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, CH- 1211 Geneva, Switzerland E-mail: cerd@ohchr.org